The present invention relates to wheelchair lock and more particularly to wheelchair locking apparatus which will prevent the collapsing of a folding wheelchair and thereby inhibit its theft.
The loss of wheelchairs from hospitals, rest homes and similar institutions constitutes a substantial element of cost for these enterprises. Most wheelchairs utilized in hospitals and rest homes are of a conventional folding variety even though there is seldom a need for utilizing the folding function. If the wheelchairs are left in their normal, easily foldable state, they are easily carried off or deliberately stolen by merely being folded and placed in the trunk of an automobile. The incidence of theft for wheelchairs which cannot be folded is, predictably, substantially lower. While it has previously been proposed to provide a locking mechanism for folding wheelchairs, such systems have typically been difficult to utilize and have involved locking components which separate from the wheelchair when the locking is not applied and are therefore easily lost or misplaced so that they are not readily available when locking should be implemented.
Among the several objects of the present invention it may be noted the provision of a novel wheelchair locking apparatus; the provision of such apparatus which will selectively prevent the folding of a wheelchair and more particularly a wheelchair of the type having a pair of centrally pivoted cross braces under the wheelchair seat; the provision of such apparatus which can remain attached to the wheelchair when the locking is not in effect; the provision of such apparatus which is highly effective and which is of relatively simple and inexpensive construction. Other objects and features will be in part apparent and in part pointed out hereinafter.